USA Swimming’s high performance manager, Russell Mark, competed at the University of Virginia and was a part of the school’s first three ACC titles in a streak of eight consecutive championships from 1999 through 2006. He studied aerospace engineering, with the dream of working for NASA. After graduating in 2001, he took a job at Pratt & Whitney, a leading manufacturer of aircraft engines.
Less than a year on that job, however, Mark applied for a yearlong USA Swimming coaching fellowship. That position evolved into a full-time role supporting the national team with video and data analysis. He started with the tedious job of logging—wait for it—VHS tapes.